Cup-making machine



Sept. 15. 1925.

P. F. BUCHANAN CUP MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 50, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTO R FE'YERF'. EUCHflM/V ATTORNEY Spt. 15. 1925.

. P. F. BUCHANAN CUP MAKING- MACHINE Filed Jan. 50. 1923 3 Sheets-Sheet2 ENVENTOR PETER}? EUL'HANHN ATTORN EY Sept 15, 1925. 1,553,504

- P. F. BUCHANAN CUP MAKING MACHINE Filed Jan. 30. 1925 3 she t n 5 75 Ill 76 43 :55 3/62 I I 46 I I 2 a! 75 61 60 44a ;:7 so

7x as 23 I I 2,

MW 64 s5 51 a ILAJ ATTORNEY 1pm.. Sept. 15, 192s.v

- j UNITED S ATES.

rm'nn r. nucnnun, or'mnon, ommo, cums.

' cur-mine ncanm Application fled January 00, ms. mm In. mm.

To all whom it may concem:

Be it known that I, PETER F. BUCHANAN, a citizen of the Dominion ofCanada, and resident of London, in the county of M d: dlesex andProvince of Ontario, Domimon of Canada, haveinvented certain new anduseful Improvements in Cu -Making Machines, of which the followlng is aspecification'.

This invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements incup making machines and has for its primary object the provision ofa'simple and compact form of machine which may be employed for makingcups from paperor other suitable material in practically one operation.

The invention has for another object the provision of a cup makingmachine of the character stated which will operate to cut the circularblanks from acontinuous strip fed into the machine and form the circularblanks into complete and finished cups immediately upon cutting of theblanks from the supply of material.

The invention has for a furtherobject the provision of a cup makingmachine of the character stated including cutting and stamping dies ofsimple construction and operation and which are controlledfrom a camshaft, means being also provided in the forming dies to heat the paperblanks from both faces as the blanks are pressed and formed into cups. V

A further object resides in the provision of a cup making machine of thecharacter stated which includes forming dies constructed in such amanneras to corrugate or crease the blanks as the latter are formed into cups.

The invention has for a still further object the provision of a cupmaking machine of the character stated including simple supporting andguiding means for the dies to assure proper and accurate operationthereof as the material is cut and heated.

The invention has for a still further object the provision of a cupmaking machine 7 of the character stated which is composed of theminimum number of parts of simple and inexpensive construction andarrangement and which may be readily assembled or repaired.

With the foregoing and other objects 1n view as will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention consists in the novel the positionof the construction, combination and arr of co-operating elements ashereinafter more specifically set forth, claimed and shown in t eaccompanying drawings forming a part of the present application, in'which:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the complete machine.

Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, at rightanglesto Fig. 1.

ig. 3 is an enlarged vertical section through the dies and the gatheringmeans for the cutting dies, showing the position of the movable parts asthe cutting operation is completed.

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3, showing movable parts as the formingoperation is completed and the cup finished from the .blanks.

Fi 5 is a detail vertical section throu h the orming die or plunger,showing t e heating means located therein.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail plan of the lower or stationary formingdie.

Referring more in detail to the drawings inwhich similar referencecharacters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,10 designates the base or table of the machine which is mounted onsuitable supporting legs 11, preferably located near the corner thereof,as shown in the drawings and connected in pairs by the upper side framemembers Fig. 2. The legs of each pair are also connected near" theirlower ends by the transverse bracing members 13 through which thebracing rods 14 are extended, near the front and back of the machine.The connected supporting legs 11 also serve to support the upper framework or side castings 15 having outturned flanges 16 at their lower endwhich are securely mounted on the upper end of the supporting legs 11,as will be clearly apparent from Figs. 1 and 2. As shown clearly in Fig.1, the base or table 10 is seated in the lower portion of the upperframe members or side castings 15 and firmly held in position therein.

The upstanding side frame members or castings 15 have their rear edgescurved or bevelled at the upper ends thereof, as shown at 17. Suitablecastings 18 are carried on the front faces of the upstanding side framemembers or castings 15, at the upper end thereof, to supporttransversely above the centre of the base or table 10 PATENT oFFi-cs.

ment

12, as shown clearly in til) the 0 rating cam shaft'19 having the drivewhee mounted thereon, preferaby to one side of the machine, as shown inFlg. 1. A clutch pedal 21 is suitably mountedon one of the bracing rods14 as shown 1n Flgs. l and 2 and a rod 22 is pivotally connected at itslowcrend with the pedal 21, as shown in these views. The upper end ofthe rod 22 i s pivotally connected with the clutch pin locking member 23of the clutch mechanism 24 provided for the cam shaft 19. A returnspring 25 is also pivotally connected with the clutch pin locking member23 and fastened to the adjacent upstanding side frame member or casting15, as shown at 26. It will, therefore, be evident to parties familiarwith this machine that the 'clutch pedal 21 may be readily operated torelease the cam shaft 19. A movement of the pedal 21 in one directionwill serve to withdraw the clutch pin locking member from its normal orfunctioning position, thereby releasing the clutch mechanism andpermitting freeoperation of the cam shaft 19. As the pedal 21 and partsconnected therewith are returned to normal position by means of thespring 25, further rotary, movement of the cam shaft 19 will beprevented.

The base or table 10 has a central vertical opening 27 extendedtherethrough and a larger countersunk opening 28 in its upper facearranged concentrically with respect to the central opening 27.Enlargements 29 are formed on the upper face of the base or table 10 andupstanding guide posts 30 are secured at their lower end in theenlargements 29. These enlargements 29 are suitably spaced from oneanother, as will be evident by referring to Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive. Itwill also be seen that the guide posts 30 have spiral lubricant passages31 in their outer faces, so that the guide posts 30 may be thoroughlylubricated at all times. A plate 32 has enlargements 33 around itsperiphery and serving as guiding collars riding on the guide posts 30'.The purpose of the plate 32 will presently appear.

The lower or stationary female cup forming die 34 is extended throughthe opening 27 of the base or table 10. This die 34 has an out-turnedflange 35 which rests in the countersunk opening 28, as shown clearly inFigs. 3 and 4. The upper face of the flange 35 is inclined slightlyoutwardly and has the radial ribs 36' which form continuations of thelongitudinal ribs 37 formed in the inner face of the main portion of thedie 34.

A stationary circular cutting die 38 is secured in the countersunkopening 28 outwardly of the flange 35. This stationary circular cuttingdie 38 extends above the flange 35 and has a cutting edge 39 forcooperation with the cutting edge 40 of the movable circular cutting die41, which lat- This may be readily under- 43 and movable circularcutting die 41 are Y of corresponding interior diameter and the plate 32is provided with a circular central opening 48 of approximately the samediameter. The sleeve 43 and movable circular cutting die 41 are also inalignment with one another and with the central circular opening 48 ofthe plate 32, as shown in the drawings. The raising and lowering head 46works in suitable removableguide members 49 which are removably mountedon the upper frame work or side castings 15, along the front edgethereof by suitable securing members 50.

The raising and lowering head 46 is operated in the removable guidemembers 49 by'adjustable rods 51 which are pivotally connected at theirlower ends to the raising and lowering head 46, while the cam rings aremounted on the upper ends of said adjustable rods 51. These cam rings 52enclose cam members 53 on the operating cam shaft 19, so as to causeraising and lowering of the head 46 as the operating cam shaft 19 isrotated. This should be readily apparent from Figs. 1 and2 of thedrawings. It is also apparent that as the raising and lowering head 46is operated. the plate 32 is moved vertically on the upstanding guideposts 30. Each downward movement of the plate 32 will cause operation ofthe cutting dies 38 and 41 to cut a circular blank 54 from the strip ofmaterial 55 fed between the cutting dies 38 and 41, as shown in thedrawings.

The plunger 56 works in the centre of the machine and carries agradually tapering forming die 57 on its lower end, this die 57 haslongitudinal ribs 58 on its outer face to correspond with the ribs 37 ofthe stationary die 34 in which the die 58 is adapted to operate, asshown in Figs. 3 and 4. The die 57 is slightly smaller than the interiorof the die 34 so as to thoroughly co-operate therewith in completing theformation of the cups from the circular blanks. The upper end of theplunger 56 is secured in the collar 59 in a suitable manner, as shown inFig. 4 and this collar 59 has the upstanding flanges 60 between which isextended the lower end of a sectional operating rod 61 having its lowerend pivotally connected with an upstanding portion 62 of the collar 59,as shown in Figs. 1 and 4. The cam ring 63 is mounted on the upper endof the sectional operating rod 61 and extendsaround a cam member 64carried on the operating cam shaft 19 and offset from the cam members 53preferably to a right angle to the latter. The purpose of thisarrangement of the cam members 53 and 64 will later appear.

A collar 65 is mounted on the upper portion of the plunger 56 andsecured in ad, justed position longitudinally of the latter by a setscrew 66 or other suitable means. By proper adjustment of the collar 65,the tension of the spring 67 surrounding the plunger 56 may be readilyregulated as the upper end of this spring bears against the under faceof the collar 65. The lower end of the spring 67 rests upon the upperend of the upper movable creasing die 68, a reduced upstanding flange'69being formed on the top of the upper movable creasing die 68 andextending into the lower end of the spring 67. This flange 69 is ofproper diameter to permit sliding movement of the plunger 56therethrough. The main portion of the upper movable creasing die 68 isspaced from the plunger 56, however, and of sufficient size to receiveat the proper time the gradually tapering forming die 57, as will beunderstood by referring to Figs. 3 and 4. The outwardly directed annularflange 70 carried at the lower end of the upper movable creasing die 68has radial ribs 71 formed on its under face and corresponding with theradial ribs 36 on the flange 35 of the lower stationary female cupforming die 34. The radial ribs 71 and 36 will co-operate incorrugat-ing or creasing the outer portion of the blank during formationof the cup from the blank. A hearing washer 72 is mounted on the upperface of the flange 70 to form a bearing for the lower end of the helicalexpansion spring 73 which encloses the upper movable creasing die 68 andalso portions of the plunger 56 and the spring 67. The upper end of thespring 73 bears against the washer 74 secured in the upper portion ofthe sleeve 43 by supporting bolts 75 or the like extending inwardlythrough the side of the sleeve 43 and into depend ing lugs 76 carried bythe washer 74. By

referring to Figs. 3 and 4 it will be ap-' parent that the springs 67and 73 work alternately. This is due to the arrangement of the cammembers 53 and 64 on the operating cam shaft 19. It is desirable to havethe heavy spring 73 acting to press downwardly the upper movablecreasing die 68 at the time of operation of the cutting dies 38 and 41to cut a new blank or set of blanks from the single set or plurality ofsets of paper or other material in position between the cutting dies 38and 41. It is to be understood that one or more blanks may be cut witheach operation of the cutting dies 38 and 41 according to the number ofsheets of material being fed to the machine. As the cutting die 41 israised,

the pressure of the spring 73 is decreased and the tension of the spring67 increased by downward movement of the plunger 56. This will permit ofgradual releasing of the edge of the blank or blanks after creasing orcorrugating between the flanges 35 and 70. As the formation of the cupsfrom the blanks continues, the creases or corrugations will be continuedbetween the gradually tapering forming die 57 and the interior of thelower stationary female cup forming die 34. The result will be thedelivery of finished cups from the lower end of the lower or stationaryfemale cup forming die 34.

In order that the blanks may be properly heated during formation of thecups, an electric heating member 77 is provided with in the graduallytapering forming die 57 with the current conducting wire 78 extendingfrom the heating member 77 through the plunger 56 and out of the openupper end thereof, as shown in the drawings, particularly Fig'. 5 whichdiscloses the fact that the plunger 56 and gradually tapering formingdie 57 are hollow. The current conducting wires 78 connect with asuitable switch 79 having positive and negative main supply wires 80connected thereto. Current conducting wires 81 connecting with the wires78 are extended to an electric heating member 82 extending around thelower or stationary female cup forming die 34, preferably below the base10, as shown in the drawings. It is, therefore, apparent that the blankswill be heated from both surfaces during formation of the cups from theblanks, provided the switch 79 is closed to complete a circuit throughthe wires 78 and 81.

It is believed the complete construction and operation of the machinemay now be understood from the foregoing paragraphs taken in connectionwith the accompanying drawings without further detailed description. Itmay be briefly stated. however, that the complete operation will beautomatic and it will be simply necessary to feed the strips of materialto the machine and operate the pedal 21. The switch 79 should be closedover one of the switch points 7 9 to assure proper heating of the blanks54 cut from the strips of material, the heating members 77 and 82providing for proper heating of the blanks from either surface thereof.As the operating cam shaft 19 rotates, the plate 32 will be reciprocatedon the upstanding guide posts 30 while the raising and lowering head 46reciprocates in the removable guide members 49. Movement of the stripsof material through the jmachine is temporarily stopped for each cuttingand forming operation of the machine. As the raising a1.. lowering head46 and the plate 32 move downwardly, the movable circular cutting die 41cuts through the material, thereby producing one or more circular blanks54 which are gripped around their edges between the flanges 35 and 70.as shown clearly in Fig. 3. At this time the spring 73 is fullycom1'n'essed while the spring (37 is expanded and the gradually taperingforming die 57 is completely enclosed in the upper movable creasing die68, and is above the new blanks. lowerng head 46 and plate 32 moveupward ly and the spring 73expands to relieve the pressure on the flange70, the plunger 56 is forced downwardly against the central portions ofth blanks 54, forcing them into the lower or stationary female cupforming die 34:. This also results in compressing the spring 67 andretaining the upper movable creasing die 68 in lowered position topermit only a gradual releasing of the edges of the blanks 54 frombetween the flanges 35 and 70. The ribs 37 and 58 of the dies 34 and 57respectively, registering properly with one another will serve tocontinue the creasing operation started by the ribs 36 and 71 of theflanges 35 and respectively, thereby assuring a fully and properlycorrugated or creased side or body for each completed cup dischargedfrom the lower endof the lower or stationary female cup forming die 34.This corrugating or creasing and forming operation is considerablyfacilitated by the heating of both surfaces or sides of the blanksthrough the medium of the heated dies 34 and 57. After the plunger 56has moved to its lowermost position, it is again raised to its uppermostposition, releasing the tension of the spring ,67 and returning the die57 to position within the upper movable creasing die 68. All of theseparts are raised a suflicient distance to avoid the strips of materialand permit further feeding thereof between the cutting dies 38 and 41before a return of the cutting die 41 to its lower-most or operatedposition 'during which return the working edge of the cutting die 41passes through the strips of material and thereby provides a new set ofblanks as disclosed in Fig. 3. This operation of the machine may berepeated or continued as long as strips of material are fed into themachine. The operation of the various parts of the machine will notinterfere with the current conducting wires 78 and 81, owing to thearrangement of the wires and the manner of connecting the same with theheating members 77 and 82.

\Vhile this machine is designed principally for making paper cups, it isevident that As theraising and the machine may be employed to makeramikins, candy and cake containers and, other articles of varioussizes, as desired. The predetermined size of the article to be producedwill govern the size of the dies and other parts ofthe machine.Furthermore, the shape and character of the dies may be varied, asdesired.

While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed, itis to be understood that minor changes in the details ofconstruction. combination and arrangement of co-operating elements maybe resorted to within the scope of what is claimed Without departingfrom the spirit of the invention.

What I claim as new is:

1. In a cup forming machine, a female die having an upper fluted flange,a plunger die cooperating with said female die, a creasing diecooperating with said fluted flange and means for exerting a resilientpressure upon said creasing die and gradually releasing said pressureduring operation of the machine.

2. In a cup forming machine, a female die having an upper fluted flange,a creasing die cooperating with said fluted flange, a strong springacting upon said creasing die, a shearing element, means forreciprocating said shearing element and compressing said spring, aweaker spring also engaging said creasing die, a plunger die cooperatingwith said female die and adapted for compressing said weaker spring uponits downward movement.

3. In a cup forming machine, a female die having a. fluted flange, acreasing die co0pcrating with said fluted flange, a plunger cooperatingwith said female die, a reciprocating shearing element, and yieldingelements acting upon said creasing die and alternately acted upon bysaid shearing element and plunger die.

4. In a cup forn'ling machine, a lower forming die having an upperfluted flange, an upper creasing die, cooperating with said flange, atapering plunger die working within'sald upper and lower dies, means forexerting a resilient pressure on said upper creasing die and graduallyrelieving the pressure thereon during the operation of the plunger, abase, a lower stationary shearing element on said base and surroundingsaid lower die, and an upper shearing element surrounding said upper dieand adapted for cooperation with said stationary shearing element.-

' 5. In a cup forming machine, the combination with blank shearingmechanism, of blank creasing mechanism, 7 cup forming mechanism, meansfor imparting a yielding pressure on said creasing mechanism during theoperation of said shearing mechanism, and means for applying a weakeryielding pressure on said creasing mechanism during the operation ofsaid cup forming mechanism.

6. In a cup forming machine, the combination with mechanism for shearingpaper blanks, of mechanism for creasing said blanks, cup formingmechanism, and resilient means alternately'compressed by said shearingmechanism and cup forming mechanism for creasing mechanlsm.

7. In a cup forming machine, a pair of cooperating forming dies,creasing mechanism, means for applying a relatively strong pressure tothe creasing mechanism during the creasing operation, and decreasingsaid pressure during the cup forming operation.

8. In a cup 'forming machine, a lower creasing die, an upper creasingdie, and resilient members of different intensity acting on said upperdie.

9. In a cup forming machine, a lower creasing die, an upper creasingdie, and means alternately acted upon for applying different pressuresupon said upper creasing die.

10. In a cup forming machine, cup forming dies, creasing dies, andyielding means acting on said creasing dies for creasing a cup blank andallowing it to be readily withdrawn from the creasing dies by the actionof the forming dies I i 11. In a paper on forming machine, thecombination with a emale die, of a creasing die cooperating with saidfemale die, a plunapplying pressure to said ger, and means for applyingpressure to the creasing die in advance of the operation of the plungerand means whereby said pres' sure is diminished upon the operation ofthe plunger.

12. In a paper cup forming machine, the

combination with a pair of reciprocable members, having successivedownward movements, a stationary die and amovable die, means forapplying pressure upon said movable die u on the downward movement ofthe first reciprocable member and diminishing said pressure during thedownward 1movement of the second reciprocable mem- 13. In a paper cupforming machine, a pair of cooperating dles, means for yieldinglypressing said dies together, a plunger die for forcing the cups throughsaid dies, the pressure on said dies being diminished when the cup isbeing forced therethrough.

14. In a paper cup 'forming machine, a stationary female die,a creasingdie cooperating with said female die, a plunger die for forcing the cupsthrough said female die, and regulated pressure means acting upon saidcreasing die.

15. In a papercup forming machine, the combination with mechanism forcreasing and forming a paper cup, a part of said mechanism being adaptedfor ejecting said cup and a variable pressure means acting on saidmechanism.

In testimony whereof, I aflix my signature.

PETER F. BUCHANAN.

